On Top Of The World
by Grim Demise
Summary: [Set a year after the movie] Wasabi introduced his new classmate & friend to the team. They were getting along very well with each other until another trouble has risen upon them, and there will be a new addition to the team but not for long.
1. Chapter 1

_**Chapter One**__** – **__**Introduction**_

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><p><em><strong>[<strong>__**San Fransokyo Institute of Technology**__**]**_

Hiro Hamada has been wandering aimlessly around laboratory in search of his two friends. He already knew Gogo is with Honey Lemon to prevent any accidents that 'might' happen during experimenting. He was still in search of Wasabi and Fred until he ultimately gave up and asked the girls instead.

"Hey guys, have you seen Wasabi or Fred around?"

"Oh, Hiro!" Honey Lemon was surprised to see her now fifteen-year old friend standing in front of her lab. "Well, Freddie has been looking hyper and running around this morning-"

"And almost got hit by my bike…" Gogo added, rolling her eyes back. "He ran off to whatever he went. He wasn't in during classes, come to think of it."

"Oh yeah, I just realized that!" said Honey Lemon. "And about Wasabi…. I'm not sure I haven't seen him around lately…"

"Yeah, weirdly. It's like both of them disappeared off the face of earth." Commented Gogo.

"Well, it IS weird…" said Hiro, scratching the back of his head. "Yesterday, Wasabi told me about something he wanted to show us and then there's Fred keeps on reminding to NOT miss out whatever we're going to witness tomorrow."

"Oh! Is it another of Wasabi's greatest invention?!" Honey asked gleefully, "I hope it's something amazing!"

"We wouldn't know if it is unless we check it out ASAP..." smirked Gogo.

"Alright then, let go and find them, I guess." Said Hiro and immediately the girls agree. Honey put down the conical flasks on the table and Gogo carefully made her way pass the set-up and off they went out of Honey Lemon's workplace. They're others working on their invention for assignments and the deadline has been a nerve-wrecking to them.

Hiro was lucky he didn't have too many works to focus and due early, yet he can't relax that easily knowing his professors will shorten the amount of time to finish it. College life is pretty stressful to him and it hasn't been easy without the support of his friends.

And speaking of friends, he finally found Wasabi talking to someone, "Hey, Wasabi!"

Wasabi turned around and smiled widely, "Hiro! Honey Lemon, Gogo, just in time as well!"

"What's up, Wasabi? What do you want to show us?" Gogo asked, popping her gum.

"Not really 'show' but more likely to 'introduce' you guys to someone…." Said Wasabi as he stepped to the side to reveal a young female student around his (Wasabi) height, dirty blonde short bob-cut hair and dark brown eyes. She wore an unzipped-red leather jacket, fitted white blouse, black knee-length skirt and simple red & white sneakers with plain white knee-highs.

She observed them curiously but mostly had her attention towards Hiro, curiosity mix with a hint of confusion in her eyes.

"Guys, this is-"

"Cherry Bomb!" Suddenly Fred came out of nowhere and wrapped both his arms around Wasabi and the new girl. Both of them, especially Hiro and Honey Lemon, were caught off-guarded as Fred continued, "I officially given her the nickname to match us all, 'Cherry Bomb'!"

"Cherry bomb? Really, Fred?" Gogo sighed. "You can't just nicknamed people you just met."

"Actually, I've known her for a week already…" said Fred with a smirk on his face. The others looked at Wasabi and expecting him to answer as well, he sighed and said, "Anyways, she's a physics student like me and recently moved here three weeks ago, we met during her second day here."

"Really? But I never seen her around-" Hiro got cut off by the new girl as she said;

"I rarely explored the school myself especially this lab so this is my first time exploring with the help of….Wasabi…." she snickered when she said the name. "Are all of you actually nicknamed by your friend here?"

She pointed at Fred and others, except for Hiro, immediately nodded.

"All except for Hiro, his name is short, simple and easy to remember!" commented Fred.

"Oh, so you're Hiro?" said the new girl with a bright smile. "Wasabi told me so many great things about you. And I guess I didn't take him seriously when he said you're still a kid…."

"A kid who just passed through his puberty is already considered 'mature', for your information…" Hiro fights back with a smirk.

"Oh, touché…" the girl laughs. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Hiro. I'm happy to meet the genius of the team around for the first time."

Hiro began to feel embarrassed, being flattered by the comment. Honey Lemon immediately when in front and shook hands with the newcomer, "Hi, my name is Honey Lemon, I'm a chemical engineering student, lots of fun with chemicals! So are we supposed to refer you as 'Cherry Bomb' from now on?"

Before the girl answered, Fred interrupts; "Yes! 'Cherry' or 'Cher' would be perfectly fine."

"No, we're not going to call her that and instead, we're going to call her by her real name which is-" But Wasabi got cut off by his new friend.

"I'm okay with both actually…" said 'Cherry'. "Sound weird yeah but it's short and simple like what Fred said."

Wasabi has the look of defeat on his face compared to Fred's victory face with his hands off their neck and swinging in the air. Cherry let out of chuckles once she sees Wasabi's face and pointed something at Wasabi's left (that he tried to keep it away when being dragged down by Fred).

Hiro saw what's in Wasabi's hand and immediately went up to it to inspect it. It's a sort of a disc suspended in the air and giving out what looks like smoke but the disc did not shake or anything when Wasabi moved his hand. When he tried to move the disc downward, it's still stays in the air in different position.

"Is this 'quantum locking'?"

Cherry immediately brightens up and took the thing from Wasabi, "Yes! An object that's locked in space and stays like that no matter which way or position you put it, even when turn it upside down, it won't fall!"

"I heard about it but never seen one up-close…" said Hiro. "Does it only work on disc?"

Cherry thought for a brief seconds before answering, "Well, I've been planning to try it on larger objects but geez; you need a lot of permanent magnets and superconductors to do that. And what makes it harder the inside of the superconductor are made from sapphire crystal coated with gold."

"Whoa…. That's really…. A lot…" said Hiro, stunned by the revelation. "So how do you get this-"

"Uh, yeah Hiro I know you had a fun time talking with 'Cherry' here…." Wasabi mutters 'can't believe it' after he said her nickname and immediately continue. "But we have classes to attend."

Cherry's eyes widened as once she looked at her wrist-watch, "Shoot, I was too mesmerized by this tour and talk! E-Erm, you can put that back at Wasabi's lab and I will pick it up later! Bye!"

She waved at them while running out of the lab and trying to catch up with Wasabi. Hiro let out 'huh' as he said, "Well, she sure is something. I guess she's kind of alright…."

"Yeah, have the same thought as you, Hiro." Said Gogo. "She seems okay-ish to me."

"I think she seems pretty fun & exciting once you said something about her invention, Hiro!" said Honey Lemon.

"Oh ho, that's just the beginning of it, guys!" said Fred, receiving odd looks from his friends. "You know I don't give her the nickname 'Cherry Bomb' without a reason, wait until you see her works!"

By whatever came out of Fred's mouth, it seems like they're going expect a lot of things.

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><p><em><strong>[Yes, Big Hero 6 has caused me under emotional breakdown of denial and distress. But it's a really good movie :D <strong>_

_**So yeah, 'Cherry Bomb', yeah, it's lame. And it will be a thing whenever her real name is said, it will be cut off. Yeah, I made it a thing. **_

_**Wait for the next chapter for her interactions with Wasabi because i love writing serious yet silly talks between friends ~ ] **_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter Two**__** – **__**Experiment and Talks Between Friends**_

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><p>Their class ended earlier than expected, Wasabi and 'Cherry' went to the lab and Cherry was relieved to see her invention is still there placed on top of the table in Wasabi's workplace, although Wasabi wasn't pleased to see his place became a mess. Cherry decided to help out with the cleaning and setting up an experiment that Wasabi wanted to try out.<p>

After done with setting it up, Cherry had a timer ready to count when Wasabi said so. And when the signal is given, she pressed the 'start' button. Wasabi turned on the machine and its laser-induced plasma starts to cut through the hard steel on the floor (because they don't where to put it due to safety, they just left it on the floor.)

Successfully, it's a clean cut but Wasabi was more concerned about its timing. Cherry stopped the timer after it's done and she sees the time before showing it to him, "Fifty-six seconds."

"What?" Wasabi asked in disbelief. "That's like, four seconds more than last time! Are you sure you set the timer at _exact_ time we started?"

"Well, I could be a second early or two…" said Cherry. "But it's not so bad, Wasabi. Your electrolaser might have….'flaws', I guess, it's still the coolest thing I've ever seen."

"Heard that every time, it's not going to cheer me up."

Cherry held her hands up in defense and had a hurtful look on her face, "Why, I tried my best to lighten up the mood but alas, my effort is in vain!"

Both of them started laughing and forgetting about the machine which Wasabi gladly turned it off before they leave it completely. He realized the 'quantum locking' invention is still holding the disc in mid-air which made him asked, "Does that thing ever wear off?"

"It depends how much liquid nitrogen you soaked it in. It's in its cooling state now so if we warmed it up, it will become a normal disc," explained Cherry. "An experiment that has the hardest set-up yet a really simple solution."

"I was really impressed by that…" Wasabi pointed out. "But the projectiles you made weren't that bad at all, considering you almost blew up Fred."

"So much for forgetting about it…." Cherry shuddered at the moment. "But hey, at least they didn't really target him at all. Luckily they're controlled by the small device I had."

"So you had no worries for its trajectory?"

"Nope" Cherry happily exclaimed. "Not at all! What's really neat is that I put a timer on each small projectile so they wouldn't explode randomly unless it is near to its target! Yeah, I cheat a bit there with the sensor in them and the whole thing."

"And you're going to let those small exploding grenades bounced around?"

Cherry bit her lower lip and quickly said, "Are you testing my self-assurance because you're making me think twice about it. Ugh, maybe it's a dumb thing to do but I was curious to know what could it do and at least I made those projectiles harmless with a bit of stunning and all. Was it really a good idea, Wasabi!?"

Wasabi just shrugged which made her groaned in frustration, "You know, it's kind of strange yet studious for a student like you to focus two interests in one subject. And of them is dangerous for a student as well."

"Quantum mechanics & secretly modified ballistics? No kidding…." Cherry frowned. "I don't even know why I even bother doing it when I can't come up with anything."

"Come on, it's not that bad." Wasabi tried to reassure her. "Look it may not be something to you but at least it's something to others, well mostly Fred. I'm sure Hiro and the others would be impressed."

"You know I'm kind of still denying that Hiro is five-"

"Four."

"Right, _four _years younger than me," Cherry corrected the estimation, "…yet he's great with everything. The feeling of anxiety when failing has begun to grow stronger than before…" She mutters the last part before shuddering.

"Cherry, you're over-reacting and you know that's bad because it overwhelms you. You're not going to give up, are you?"

Cherry sighed as she shook her head, "No, I came this far in inventing. There's no way turning back when there's a chance."

"Ha, there you go. Back on track and on your feet already!" Wasabi cheered. "Man, you're easily convinced somehow. Also, I think you should take a break from your work; you must have been working all week for those modified and harmless gravity-bombs to work plus that quantum technology. How about tomorrow we go and hang out with the others, it's the weekend after all."

Cherry smiled and accepts the offer, "Alright then, if it helps to cool my mind. I'm only available around noon time though; have to help my mom back home."

"Got it…" Wasabi nodded. "I will go tell the others about that. Alright, it's time for me to leave. See you tomorrow, Cher."

"See ya'..." Cherry waved goodbye as she carefully picked up her things and shoved them into her bag. She thought that she was alone now in the lab until Wasabi peeks a bit and said, "And by the way, it took me a long time to realize that your hair is not natural. I can see its roots different, kind of like Gogo. Okay, that's all I want to say to get it off my chest, goodbye!"

With that he sprinted away, leaving Cherry stunned, "Did he just run all the way back just to tell me that? Weird…. but a helpful reminder as well…."

She shook her head in amusement and left the lab. She looked at clear and transparent windows to see that it's getting dark soon. She brushes her hair off her face, taking a closer look, "Well, I guess it's pretty obvious it's not natural, kind of noticeable as well. I should fix that later…"

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><p><em><strong>[Reassuring a friend is hard, being confident in everything is hard, TRY NOT TO BREAK DOWN DUE TO ANXIETY, STRESS AND FAILURE IS HARD = Pretty much sums up Cherry's problems. <strong>_

_**Yeah, I kind of not wanting her to stand out too much so it's implied her ability is the same with Honey Lemon but no chemical reaction, just stunning and knocking people off with it (she most likely to create a distraction for others). **_

_**How on earth Fred just happened to stumble upon her testing the gravity bombs, I don't know it sort of happen because wow, that kid went everywhere.**_

_**Purposely make this chapter nothing relevant and short especially the next chapter where the team hang out and more personal things about Cherry.]**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter Three**__** – **__**The Lucky Cat Café**_

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><p>"Oh, we're so glad you can make it, Cherry! Our first hangout with a new friend, so exciting I could barely stay still!" Cherry nervously laughed at the sight of enthusiasm Honey Lemon is showing next to her. All of them gathered around the table, leaving Fred to roam around the café, Cherry felt a bit uncomfortable of them being too close especially when she doesn't know anything about them yet.<p>

She tug on her pastel V-neck cardigan over her shoulder to keep it from falling off the edge, and decided to take this as a chance to get to know each other, "So, since yesterday was like a rush hour in college, can we familiarize first….importantly?"

Gogo went first, "The name's Gogo Tomago, obviously Fred gave that nickname. I'm an Industrial Design and Mechanical Engineering student and main focus on my inventions is speed. And I don't like to be ordered around, besides Hiro's case is different here…"

Hiro gave out a nervous laugh after hearing that then started to clear his throat before going first, "Well, I'm Hiro Hamada, student expert in robotics who just started a year ago and that's about it, I guess."

"Really? That's all?" Cherry asked with a smile.

"Well, he has a giant balloon robot named 'Baymax'!" said Fred at the counter, try to pet the bobtail cat, Mochi.

"A giant what?"

"Hello."

Cherry screeched as she fell down but caught by…. something soft. She looked up to see a robot that looks like one of those wind chimes around. Immediately, she gets back on her feet to inspect the robot, poking its belly and surprised to see its inflatable, "Um, so this is Baymax?"

"Hello, I'm Baymax, your personal health-care companion." It immediately said. "You have fallen from your seat. I will scan you for injuries."

"Scan what now?"

Baymax' engine runs as he performs a scan on the stunned girl then said, "Scan complete. You have sustained no injuries. However, your body temperature is 39 degree Celsius which is 102.2 Fahrenheit, this indicate you're experiencing a minor fever. I recommend staying hydrated and having enough rest to cool down."

"Wow…" Cherry was amazed by the result, "That's… really helpful. I didn't know I had a fever and I thought it's because of this…hot and sunny day, I guess. Hiro, your robot both completely overwhelmed and frightened me at the same time."

"You scared of it because?" Hiro asked.

"Does it follow you everywhere you go and forced you to take your medications? Does it ever stop even though you feel better already?"

"I can be deactivated when you said, 'I am satisfied with my care'." Said Baymax.

"Oh, okay…well, that's great!" Cherry exclaimed. "Then Baymax, I'm satisfied with my care."

"Did you said 'I am satisfied with my care' or *'I am satisfied with my hair'?" Baymax asked. "You hair color is not naturally blonde and its roots shows that as an evidence. Your natural hair color is black and you should be cautious because uses of hair dye can have harmful side effects such as hair breakage and skin discoloration."

"I have no intention to do that again, Baymax, thanks though," Cherry nervously smile while shooing him. "And as I said Baymax, I am satisfied with my care…"

"I will deactivate now, Li-"

"AH! Hiro, your cat is trying to tear my face off!"

"Pardon me; I need to find the source of that sound."

Baymax slowly walks over to Fred with Mochi clawed to his beanie and him trying to get it off. Cherry went back to her seat and trying to see if Baymax succeeded. Wasabi snapped his fingers in front of her face and said, "Fred can handle it by himself. Was it coincidence that every time someone tried to say your name out loud, it always gets interrupted? Not that it's weird but I don't know, does it annoys you?"

"Hey, if the universe doesn't want anyone to know my name, then let it be..." Cherry shrugged.

Wasabi sighed as he massaged his temples, "Great, now everyone going to call a person by a fruit name-"

"So ours are normal compared to a fruit name?" Gogo immediately interrupts Wasabi and startled Cherry with a question, "So Cher, Do you have any hobbies?"

"Oh, I like reading of course… And I often do skateboarding"

"Whoa, you? Skateboarding?" Gogo smirked. "I have no idea you're a daredevil-type. Since when?"

"I'm actually just really curious about it…." Cherry chuckles. "I have a cousin around my age living with me since we were little and he keeps on saying I should try it out for better healthy lifestyle. I have thoughts that I wouldn't enjoy it as much as he would but I got easily convinced."

"For how long already? And for how long does it take for you to master it?"

"I think it's already been five years?" said Cherry. "And it took me half a year, and a few trip to the hospital and spending couple of nights there too. But during those five years, I took a habit of fixing other people's skateboards and that one time I put a rocket booster under my cousin's skateboard. Let's just say he ended up like me for a couple of night."

"Nice…" Gogo chuckles. She and Cherry started to spark up the conversation about it.

"Hey Hiro, where's your aunt?" Honey Lemon whispered.

"She's out for today, we have the café all to ourselves now-"

"Whoa, you mean we just intruded a café that's no actually opened for public?" Wasabi asked. "You guys didn't even pull the cover up the windows and now people think we're taking advantage of the owner of this place!"

"Wasabi, calm down. It's fine…." Said Hiro. "People always see us around and they know what's going on. And of course, we have the lose sign put up so no one wouldn't bother to look through the window."

Wasabi sighed as he sat back in his seat. Suddenly, Cherry remembered something that's been bothering her yesterday. She tried to find Fred and glad to see him still fine with marks visible on his face now (Baymax is now petting the pet cat while calling it 'Hairy Baby'). "Hey Fred, I want to ask you something."

"I'm all ears!" Fred exclaimed as he took a seat near Cherry. "What's up?"

"Nothing really important like it's related to world-ending though, just wondering how do you came with nickname. That's all actually."

Fred began to be laid back as he explained with a grin, "Well, it's easy. I just based them off their personalities. Except for Wasabi though because he spilled food on his shirt."

"ONE TIME" Wasabi reminded him.

"Really?" Cherry raised an eyebrow. "I thought it has something to do with your favorite color being 'green'…"

"Thought so too but it's not…" said Gogo. "Cher, there's no bother to ask how he came up. Sometimes it doesn't make any sense."

"Though they're extremely fun and easy to refer who to!" said Honey Lemon. "Speaking of which Freddie, how did you come up with Cherry's nickname?"

Fred suddenly stood on the chair and begins to explain with his arm flailing around in anticipation, "It's crazy! I just walked by the school and saw Cher doing something suspicious. Trying to act all heroic, I braced myself to see this 'suspicious activity' she's doing but instead she jumped and screamed while all those tiny balls she has dropped and surrounded me. I really thought they're going to explode or something but it's a huge disappointment when it rolls away and-"

"She was testing small and more circular gravity bombs with homing properties to see if they work but Cherry got scared when Fred came out of nowhere and dropped them." Wasabi gave the summarized version of Fred's story, who stared at him in disbelief. "I was there too, Fred, might as well to keep it short and simple without making it exaggerating."

"Wait, you're testing bombs? That's another surprising thing from you I have heard so far, " Gogo exclaimed. "It's like you're full of surprises…."

"Like a cherry!" Fred pointed out. "Cherry had very strange and different flavor that its like your tasting both thing and just explodes your mouth with its flavor!"

The others just stared at Fred, including Baymax, who seems to emphasis himself in the talk. Baymax went over to Hiro as Mochi jumped off from his arms, "Hiro, it seems that my battery capacity is at 9% right now and-"

"What!? Already!?" Baymax slightly nodded. Hiro sighed but an idea soon struck his head, "Hey Cher, you want to see the rest of my robots?! They're awesome fighting bots!"

Once Cherry heard that, she immediately though about those bot fights her cousin always goes to, she secretly enjoys the sight of people losing the bet but the bots always capture her attention because of its details. "Sure, Hiro. I would love to see your other robots."

Hiro carefully guided Baymax to upstairs and Cherry was about to follow them from behind when Wasabi called up to her, "Cher, just for your information. If there's something in the room that's bother you, do not ask. I repeat, do NOT ask. It does nothing good when you do that, okay? You understand?"

Cherry just rolled her eyes back, "Wasabi, I know what you're talking about; it's about that thing earlier morning, right? The one you said I should probably know first?" She received a nod. "Don't worry, I will dodge that touchy subject and I will ignore it if Hiro ever bring it up."

"Don't do that!" Wasabi silently screamed. "If you ignore him talking about that, then he will feel lonesome and guilty all over again!"

"Then what am I supposed to do?! Nothing at all?!" Cherry screamed back. Anxiety rose up again and hits her nerve.

"Hey."

Both of them turned their attention to Gogo, who's now looking annoyed, "Why can't you let our friend decide what she should do? I mean, Hiro is going to tell her anyways. How Baymax is created and all the bots he abandoned. And Cherry, woman up and sympathize."

Understanding what she meant, Cherry nodded and took a deep breath before ascending upwards, the sight of the messy room and Baymax in his port.

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><p><em><strong>[* = Baymax said this to Ryan Potter once in an interview and I think it was hilarious hahaha.<strong>_

_**I know I said this chapter would be short but it turns out to be long hahaha...**_

_**Few things about Cherry and well, she has to handle whatever is thrown right at her in the next chapter.] **_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Chapter Four**__** – **__**Bot-Fighting & Family**_

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><p>"Wow, you have a lot of robots here, Hiro…" said Cherry as she picked up the tough-looking bot from the shelf. She was amazed by the whole collection of robots neatly lined up on all three shelves and some parts scattered on the table as well. "Do you really need all of these bots for fighting?"<p>

"What?" Hiro had already gotten Baymax into his port to charge his battery. He looked over to see Cherry holding one of his bots, "Oh those things? Well, I don't use them anymore because I have this little fella' here to do my work!"

Hiro picked up his Megabot and showed it to her, "I know it doesn't look much but it's actually-"

"Magnetic bearing servos?" Hiro was taken aback by the fast reply. "Wasabi told me all about it, about you career in bot-fighting. It's amazing how it looks so simple but yet it's really a high-advanced robotic. You must have really worked hard on this."

Hiro frowned, "Yeah, but it's no good to me now. It really brings me bad memories whenever I see it."

Cherry flinched; she put down the Megabot on the table and put her hand on Hiro's shoulder, "Hiro-"

"Let me guess, Wasabi told you about the whole incident a year ago? Especially about my brother?"

Cherry sighed, and then nodded, "Yeah, I was pretty shocked when I heard about it and I now know why the auditorium was named after your brother. Look I know it's been tough for you but it's not your fault, okay? I know you heard this lot of times but I don't think your brother would like it if you still moped around and blamed yourself. Your microbots might be the reason for creating that tragedy but it still serves itself as a miracle for helping many people, but only to fall into the wrong hands, misused."

"But now, I think your brother can rest in peace knowing his little brother is now safe away from a villain filled with selfish needs. I know this might sounds really weird, but don't make him worried too much now that you're on your own. You have Baymax, your aunt and your friends whenever you need help."

Hiro slightly smiled and held her hand which rested on her shoulder, "Thanks, that actually cheers me up a little. Maybe I'm just being ridiculous and all but it does push myself further into helping others in need, making sure they will never give up."

He was suddenly pulled into a tight hug as Cherry stroke his head, "That's the spirit, Hiro. I knew you weren't like that."

"Oh, yeah…" Hiro nervously laughed and struggling in her grip, trying to get free. His emotional state just went from sorrow to obdurate. Luckily, it didn't take the older one to finally realized and let him go immediately.

"Sorry!" Cherry apologized. "I can get very emotional and too deep in times like this so the whole thing gotten the best of me, I'm so sorry about that!"

Hiro just chuckled, "Hey, it's fine. I kind of get that hug a lot from Baymax and others." He straightens up his jacket and fixes his hair, "…..Hey, do you have a younger sibling?"

"Younger sibling?" Hiro nodded. Cherry just simply shook her head and asked, "Why do you ask?"

"Well, it kind of feels you've been through this situation before…? You were not pushing yourself too far to be comforting to make things a bit awkward and well- It's a silly question forget about it…."

"No, that's okay I think I know what you mean..." said Cherry. "Like I said before, I have a cousin around my age. Well to be more specific, he's three weeks younger than me so it's a chance for me to bring up that 'When I was your age…' joke there after my birthday. And just like you, he's really into bot-fighting…"

"Really?" Cherry nodded. "What's his name? Maybe I knew him from somewhere or met him by any chances."

Cherry just shrugged and answered, "I'm not sure if he uses his real name in bot-fights. His full name is Kenneth, and his family calls him 'Ken'. But I like to call him, 'Kenny' with a hint of sisterly love."

Hiro snorted, trying to suppress his laughter by covering his mouth with his hand, "And so what? Did he get really, really annoyed when he did that? Like telling you to shut up or threw something right at you?"

"Well, no…" Cherry chuckles, "Rather, he just accepts it. I mean whatever I do he just went along like 'Okay, she does that. Better not make her feel annoying, just follow along so both of us win' kind of thing. It's… really hard for me…though."

"Why? It sounds like he's alright with you around…."

A sigh escaped her lip as she brush off her hair in front of her face, "Ken have troubles getting along with his own family and it's been so long since he last seen them. And the last thing he did to them was really harsh; he ran away without saying a word… And guess where he ends up now…"

"He lives with you now….. But why? Do you ever ask him that?"

"Simply hates them, that's all I can get. I don't know why but it's just like that."

Cherry sat and leans back on the chair while turning around, facing the window that shows early evening sky of San Fransokyo, "It's pretty stressful. We're only nine and my mother was rarely home back them so I had to take care of him from time to time. He's lucky that we're in the same age or else we would have major fight going on in the house. Years later, now he sees me as his sister figure. I don't really mind…"

"But you hoped that he will go back to where his family is one day, is that what you want?" Hiro asked.

"It's not that easy, he spent his entire life with me and I'm sure he has many different thoughts about his own family now. It's a tough challenge for me to take on but I'm not giving up on him to not ignore the fact he has his own life back home."

"That sounds like what Tadashi would said if he's in that situation…" Hiro muttered sadly.

"I guess your brother and I had some similar difficulties to deal with…. "sighed Cherry. "Well, your brother used to, now it's just me."

The atmosphere became heavy and it feels like the silence between them went on for eternity. They have nothing else to talk about when it seems like everything will lead to a family matter. Eventually, Cherry stood up, "I better leave now and I think I have made enough awkward moments between us, yet again, I'm sorry…"

"No, no, it's alright. I'm just glad you opened up to me like a friend…" Hiro smiled. "So does this mean I'm not 'just a kid' to you anymore?"

Cherry chuckles as she said, "You're still a kid to me, Hiro, if you keep having that attitude. And I'm glad that I can finally call you my friend rather than my senior. Oh and just a reminder, my cousin went bot-fighting if he in a bad mood or something. If you see him, give him a good knock in the head."

"Ha-ha, very funny."

"No, I'm being serious. He really needs that knocking…"

"Hey I'm just a kid, why would I knock a teenager's head just because his sister told me to? That's kind of shameful for a sister asked from a kid now is it?"

"… You're the liveliest person I've ever encountered."

* * *

><p>The gang downstairs was cracking up some jokes to kill time (mostly Fred's idea to do it). When they heard footsteps on the staircase, they immediately paid close attention to it. Cherry looked at them, raising an eyebrow and asked, "Were you guys waiting for us the whole time? I'm sorry if you guys were."<p>

"Not really, we just wondering if you… handle the situation alright..?" said Honey Lemon.

"Oh that, well, that's a funny story…" Cherry laughs nervously. "We ended up sharing stories and can relate to each other by different ways- We technically have our own problems to deal with so that's done."

"Then everything's alright!" Honey Lemon exclaimed. "I think call for a 'close-call' celebration!"

"I'm sorry Honey Lemon, but I have business to take back at home." Cherry told her, _"Geez, I apologized a lot since this evening…' _

"Aww, can't you stay just a few minute?"

"I think we should Cherry off the hook for this one, Honey Lemon.." said Hiro as he came down the stairs. "She has other business to take care of."

"Since when you decided who to let go or who to stay here?" asked Cherry, smirking while putting her hand on her hips. "Doesn't fit you at all, Hiro..."

"This is my house so I make the rules…" Hiro smirked back. "Unless you want me to change my mind…"

"Nah, I'm good. Besides, you're right I have things to be taken care of," exclaimed Cherry. "And technically speaking, this your aunt's café which mean it belongs to hers and not you so even if your forced me to stay, I will just walk away from here while snapping my fingers on my way out…"

"Heh, touché…"

"Hey, don't steal my line," she said while ruffling Hiro's hair and laughs at his pouty face. "Alright, now your face has me cheered up, my mother will be expecting me to come home with a smile on my face. Goodbye, guys! See you next week and don't forget about the project Wasabi!"

"See ya', Cher." "Goodbye, Cherry!" "Won't forget about it, partner!" "Keep on working on those bombs, CB!"

Cherry waved at them from the outside before facing away from the café. A wide smile plastered on her face at the thought of them instantly, she liked them already, especially Gogo (even though she's a tiny bit afraid of her) & Honey Lemon (because of her enthusiasm). Merrily, she can't wait to tell her mother about her new friends, and also to get things settle with a certain family member in her house too.

* * *

><p><em><strong>(Well, both Hiro and Cherry have problems to deal with but Hiro ended his already while Cherry still struggles on this one. Huh, wonder if the consequence will also reflect each other?)<strong>_


	5. Chapter 5

_**Chapter Five**__** – **__**Come Home**_

* * *

><p>"Mom, I'm back!"<p>

"Welcome home, sweetie!"

Cherry hang her bag near the front door and went to see her mother in the living room. She can see the table is filled with different photos and catalogues scattered around and few of them lined up in front of her mother who's staring at it with a really stern face. Her mother is a fashion designer and always has a hard time picking which of her creations to be put on the walkway for next week. She should have done this earlier but, better later than never right?

"Oh, this is really stressful... I can't pick which one…" said her mother, biting on her thumb while darting her eyes on both photos on the table. "Sweetie, can you help..?"

"Sure thing..." said Cherry as she walked over to her mother's side and studied both photos.

The first photo on the left was simple but attracts her attention by its colors, a red & green stripes gingham dress with a white belt around the torso. The end of the dress has red ruffles especially its cuffs with a few green ribbons on it.

The second photo on the right was somehow seems a bit 'classy'. It's brown strapless & short dress with black belt around the torso that has frills on it. The back of the dress has ruffles on it that looks like a big bow on it.

In the end, Cherry picked the one on the left, "Maybe this one would do fine…"

"Are you really sure?" Her mother said, worrying over the choice she made. "What if they don't like it?"

"Mom, you're not the only one going through this. Other designers went through the same stressful thing and got rejected but eventually rise up again to gain their former glory, " Cherry shrugged. "It's not the end of the world; you were given another chance to prove you can blow the judges away and regret that they underestimate you."

"Oh, you and your big words…" Her mother chuckles as she pat her head and kisses her forehead. "You always know what to say to make things okay for your beloved mother."

"Because I love my mother the best," Cherry grinned. "Besides, what kind of daughter am I if I'm never here for you?"

Her mother smiled while went back to clean up the mess on the table. Cherry tried her best to show her support for her mother when her father left overseas. A tough family of two went through their life smoothly and just fine, only if she handles the additional family member living with them. She went up and paused halfway just to tell her mother, "Mom, if it doesn't pressure you a bit but can we have _okonomiyaki _for dinner tonight?"

Her mother looked at her surprised, "Uhm… well, that will take a while to cook it but can I ask why?"

Cherry just sighed and has dreaded look on her face, "I'm going to try to talk some sense into Ken _again_…"

Immediately, her mother understood the drill, "I will get it done in a few minutes. Take it easy on him, sweetie!"

She nodded and quickly went up the stairs to find the door to her cousin's room opened. She inhaled deeply then exhaled, "Well, now or never situation…"

Kenneth Leigh was working on his robot in his room, trying to fix a few bugs that became really annoying during one of the bot-fights he's in which almost caused him to lose. Well, he won which is a miracle but that doesn't mean he can ignore the twitching robot trying to harm other with its four sharp razorblades. It took him five attempts and finally the stupid thing work perfectly fine, he can now laid back and wastes the night away- until his cousin came in.

"Kenny?"

He lifted his arm to see Cherry stood in front of his door with her arm reached out, about to knock on his door. He stood up, straightened his posture whilst on the bed and ushered her to come in, "So 'Cher', have interesting news at your school today?"

"Aw geez, still with the nickname?" Cherry groaned at the nickname. It's fine when her friends use it because they have nicknames came up by the same guy but when it comes to Ken, it would be seen being used to tease her. But that shouldn't bother her, "I made a few friends and one of them reminds me of you a lot."

"How a lot?" Ken asked.

Cherry just smirked and said, "He's into bot-fighting, well maybe used to nowadays. But he has quite a reputation here and there, ever heard of 'Hiro Hamada'?

She almost laughed out loud when her cousin had his jaw dropped, stuttering and almost fell out of bed. His face was in pure shock which is really ashamed she didn't record this moment and keep it forever for future humiliation. She waited for Ken to get back on his feet.

"Are you talking about, 'The Hiro Hamada'? The one with a robot that's like indestructible and unbeatable because of its highly-advance properties?" Ken asked, full of hope getting what he's looking for.

"Yup, I'm talking about Hiro Hamada, a child prodigy who's currently studying in San Fransokyo Institute of Technology…" Cherry answered him honestly with a small grin.

She really doesn't remember him being all loud when he's really thrilled but instantly regret she doesn't when her ears started ringing. He started jumping around and muttering 'can't believe it!' while looking around for his robot and immediately faced her, "You have got to introduced him to me! He's, like, my inspiration into bot-fighting!"

"A 15-years old kid? A kid who's three years younger than you is your inspiration to do this…. whole thing?" She pointed out the mess on his place. "Well, can't blame your enthusiasm. I was also excited to meet him at first and he's literally the most awkward yet clever person you've ever met."

"God..." Ken almost laughed, can't believe everything right now as he fell back onto his bed. "That's quite news to hear from you….. I almost regret for making a joke of you going to some nerd school."

"Come on, the school isn't bad. You get to see all never-seen before inventions made by other students and let's see, I took my time having with all of them…"

A chuckle escaped his mouth as he managed a small smile, "As guilty as I sound like one, I really have second thoughts about applying to that college. It might, you know, worth my time there and learning more about robotics. Mine never turned out to be alright, they have minor bugs I didn't know and hurting others instead…"

"Aren't all bots supposed to harm other in order for them to be in bot-fighting?" Cherry asked but take that back as soon as his glare met hers. She held her hands up for him to calm down, "I'm glad you actually thought about it. You're going to have an amazing time there…"

"I sure hope so…" said Ken. He picked up his bot and went over to his desk to place it. He puts back all the spare parts into a bow which he keeps it in one of the drawers which requires a key unlock every single of them. He was all done clearing his working place and was a bit surprised to see Cherry still standing there, "Um, why are you still here? That's all you're going to say to me right?"

Cherry sighed and shook her head, she was about to say something when she got suddenly cut-off, "Stop, no, I know what you're going to say."

"Ken-"

"No, I'm not going back..." Ken frowned. "That's the last thing I wanted to do…"

"Ken! You can't just stay here for the rest of your life!" Cherry exclaimed. "Your family needs you and you're their only son. Do you think your family can live through wondering what did they do wrong? You're making them feel guilty for thinking yourself as a burden to them."

"They can live without me! They have Aina! Why bother having a second child if they never seem to care so much compared to their first?!" Ken shouted. "They've been neglecting for nine years. Nine complete years, and you think I can forgive that?! They were never there for me except you! You're the only person I care about and not them or Aina, why you asked?! Because whenever I need them, they never bother to show their faces around the house!"

"Kenneth Leigh!" Cherry finally snapped and decided to drop her cool façade. "Aunt Haruna and Uncle Jeffrey did not raise you to feel unloved nor neglected. For nine years they didn't care about you? That's…. just stupid, if they really don't care about you they wouldn't want you in their household anymore. For all these years I thought you were suffering from serious cause and it turns out to be the case of isolation, you made worried all these years for nothing!"

Ken didn't want to look at her in the eyes anymore. He looked down, trying to hold back his tears from falling. This is the first. The first time he ever made his caring cousin mad and snapped. "Kenneth, look at me…. In the eye…" he heard her saying directly, words that sounds really heavy to him, "Now."

He looked up, just to see Cherry looking down at him, face still contrast in anger but somehow held back from having an outburst again, "I did not look out for you just to make you not realizing about yourself. You may hate your family but you're related to them by blood and you may treat me like a sister but by only a single bond. Kenneth, which one do you think is closer?"

"….Blood…" Kenneth quietly answered.

"No matter what, they're your family by blood and that will never change. If you don't see that clearly now, I can just forget about you after this."

The tension between the two cousins died down when Cherry finally cool down and Kenneth starts to think about this whole situation. She did not wait for an answer to come, turns to her back and leave, only to be stopped by a voice, "Wait."

She looked back, Ken tried to be fearless and looking determined at what he's about to say, "Give me one week. One week and I might, just might, think about coming home. I need time to be prepared…"

Cherry faltered and said, "Take as long as you need, Ken. But not too long…"

He nodded, "Yes. And um… I-I'm sorry, I'm sorry I never told you all this time about it, Jie…"

Jie (Cherry) just waved it off and has a faint smile on her face now, "…It hurts me for you to get me thinking into pitying you because of some harsh reasons, but I think that will passed eventually. My mom prepared _okonomiyaki _for tonight..."

"You're going to your lab? You're going to be there all-night?" Ken asked, a bit worried. "Look, I don't think you should that for today, especially after that….fight."

Jie sighed and went over to give her cousin a hug and stroke his head, "I'm going to be fine. I know you're worried about my health but right now, you're going to worry whether or not you decided to leave or stay. Think about yourself, then your own cousin."

She gave a light peck on the forehead and eventually left the room. Ken touched his forehead and watches her leave; Jie does that as an 'early goodnight' thing. It became something like a habit for her not to leave the lab all night, either studying or trying to dwell into her thoughts. He found about it when Jie started high-school, and never once tried to bother her.

Ken was about to follow her but he doesn't want to keep his aunt waiting downstairs.

* * *

><p>Jie sighed as she fell back to her seat. The lab was just at the end of the hallway, the inside is a spacious but still cramped with the books all lining up at every corner, two sofas, a coffee table and only a working place. The lab used to be her father's, now it's hers to have it.<p>

She rested her head on the table while staring at the picture of her father before he left, before Kenneth came into their life, before she was six when he finally left her with her mother alone. Compared her father's reason, of not being able to stay longer, to Kenneth's reason to leave a family behind, both of them were being unreasonable, except one of them is just the way it is.

"Please … I can't take this anymore….." Jie buried her head into her arms as she sobbed quietly, letting her emotions flow and cried out, "Dad, please…. come home…"

* * *

><p><em><strong>[I know I said I will have some kind of interruption when a character trying to reveal Cherry's real name but my hands just went 'nOPE' and messed it up. But hey, at least the gang doesn't know it yet (except for Wasabi and Fred of course, maybe Baymax also). On to the next chapter then-]<strong>_


	6. Chapter 6

_**Chapter Six**__** – **__**Ambushed**_

* * *

><p>The early first light peeks through the curtain of the lab, being the only source of light in the room. Jie still rested on the table, burying her head into her arms, having a wonderful dream of….. stuffs. However, the moment of serenity in the room was interrupted by the sound of the door opening, the creaking noise echoed and an intruder slowly stepped inside, approaching the sleeping girl.<p>

Its footsteps getting closer and closer, until it's loud enough to wake up Jie. She yawned and rubbed her eyes from drowsiness. Looking back to the door and saw a giant silhouette with glaring eyes and holding what looks like a 'knife'. She shrieked and fell off the chair, quickly crawled backwards until her back meets the wall. She quickly grabbed the nearest thing (a metal ruler) on the desk and holds it against her chest.

As the thing gets closer, her eyes shut tight as she braced herself whatever is coming at her. Until she hears this- "J-J-Jie, i-it's time f-for breakfast!"

"Huh?" she opened one eye, only to see a miniature robot had its metal arm sticking out in odd direction and keep on twitching its head from side to side while stuttering the same line over and over again. She recognized the robot wearing a blue kimono as she picked it up and fixed its arm, "This _'Karakuri puppet' _really needs some tuning…. I'm going to talk to Ken about this… and letting this thing into the lab, god I got freaked out over nothing."

She keeps on complaining as she closed the door behind her and headed downstairs.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile downstairs, Jie's mother was washing the dishes while Ken just sat in the living room, doing a final check on his battle-bot. His aunt looked at him worryingly, last night she heard the uproar upstairs and it suddenly dies down right before thinking of interrupting them. She wondered if the talk still didn't manage to convince him yet.<p>

Nonetheless, she keeps a smile on to brightened up the mood, "So Kenneth, have any plans for today dear?"

Ken shrugged as he replied, never taking his eye of his bot, "Not really. I was thinking about going bot-fighting, but I decided to stop them from being my habit. I don't really want to get addicted to fighting against people who are capable in hurting me…"

"Aw, I'm proud of you sweetie…" said his aunt. She almost said 'you've made the right choice' and really have to keep that in her mind due to last night. She shook her head and said, "Well then, no more bot-fighting to you at last! It's like you've finally realized about this whole thing, Kenneth."

"Aunt Lauryn? I actually thought about moving back…. I mean to where my family is…" Kenneth muttered the last part out. "Is it better if I-"

He didn't manage to finish his sentence when his aunt suddenly hugged him, trying to distance the bot from them to prevent any injuries. Her words were muffled but he heard, 'can't believe it' and 'finally'. She pulled away, tears rolling down her cheeks as she smiled widely, "You… finally made the right choice… Oh wait, until Jie wake up-"

Both of them flinched and looked at the ceiling when they heard screaming and loud thud upstairs.

"What was that?" Aunt Lauryn asked, wondering if her daughter is alright. "Wait, aren't you supposed to wake your cousin up if she's going to be in her lab all night?"

Ken let out a quiet whistle as he tried to explained, "Yeah, about that… I kind of don't want to be the one to wake her up because of… last night. So I sent one of my _zashiki karakuri _to do the job and the robot is strangely twitchy. I mean, I never used that a lot..."

"You mean the one I accidentally broke while cleaning your room?" Lauryn covered her mouth quickly but she already said it. Ken stared at her with wide eyes and later frowned at her mistake. But Lauryn later brought up **his** mistake, "But you should know your cousin has fear of robotics, Kenneth. I mean, why else would she distance herself from your robots?"

"What!? She came with me during bot-fights!"

"That's because you're there. She at least needs someone professional to be with so that she could be calm around the robots. And she has small concern over small ones; the big ones are her problem."

Ken groaned as he shook his head, "After all this time, she was terrified of my creation and she did not bring that up, why?!"

"You're the one who started it…" Lauryn bluntly answered. "You know the flying miniature robot you built when you were eleven? The one landed on Jie's head and started to jolt uncontrollably?"

"…Oh."

They heard heavy footsteps coming from the downstairs and Jie, who looks very irritated, holding the bot that's still repeating the same line. She pointed at Ken, accusingly, "You and I are going to have a long talk about using this to freak me out…."

Ken nervously laughed, looking away before back at her, "S-Sorry?"

Jie sighed and put down the bot on the couch, "I think you can do me a favor by helping me to do the grocery. I forgot to buy crackers yesterday and I'm really stressful if there's none around."

"Sweetie, stress-eating is not good for you…"

"Mom…. I am a college student now…." Said Jie as she massages her temples. "Stress-eating is necessary so I can calm my mind and finish my assignment. Stress-eating is my stress-relief. If I don't stress-eat, I will go grouchy and YOU KNOW ME WELL WHAT HAPPENS IF I'M GROUCHY AROUND THE HOUSE!"

Lauryn quickly held her hands up in defense at her daughter's sudden outburst. She eyed at Kenneth, who just stepped backwards, and said to him, "Kenneth, I think you really need to go with Jie now…"

"Yeah, right now, got it. Okay, Jie, I will go with you if only you calmed down because you look like you're going hurt someone nearby…."

"…. Alright, I'm going to take a quick shower…. And maybe we can leave in just ten minutes. Just go and get ready…"

Jie turns to her back and went up the staircase. Lauryn and Kenneth let out a relief sigh; well at least they're not going to face anyone's wrath early morning.

* * *

><p>Jie and Ken decided to take the cable car into the city, they though it would be much faster. They were surprised to see the car is pretty vacant, since it's a busy day and all. They decided to sit next to the door, keeping distance between each other as the ride starts.<p>

Ken decided to start the conversation regarding last night and earlier morning, "Uhm, Jie? About last night? When I said I need a week to think about…it?"

"Yeah…? Have you actually thought about it?" Jie asked.

"Well, yeah I did…. For the whole night…." Ken explained. "Yeah, it only took me a six hour of not sleeping to make up my decision, not a week."

"Dang, do you even sleep?" Jie got startled instead when Ken glared at her in reply. She clears her throat before saying, "So, what's you decision?"

Ken took a deep breath and said, "I will move back…. To where my parents and sister are. Just the four of us in the household, finally a complete family."

"Really?" Ken nodded, a faint smile on his face. She held back the urge to squeal out loud and hug him because finally, he's staying with his own family, where he's belong after nine years of abandoning them. She straightens her back and simply nods with a smile, "I'm glad you finally realized it, it will be terrific news for your family to hear after all these years…"

"…You sound really forced. Are you not happy of me?"

"Oh, shut up, you dork! Of course, I'm happy!" Jie laughed as she playfully punched him in the arm and Ken does the same thing in reply, only a bit harder. Then they began to throw soft punches while laughing uncontrollably.

Suddenly the cable car stopped and both of them fell down at the same time. Ken gets up, rubbing his sore arm, and sees if something blocking their path, but there's none. "I'm going to…. ask the driver to see what's going. Just wait here…" said Ken as he went front.

He knocks on the door a few times, getting no answers. Surprisingly he found the door unlocked as he slide it opened. The driver was checking all his gearshifts before realizing another person in the cab, "Sorry, young man. It seems like there's problem in the control…."

"Is there anything I can help? I have tweaked some robots during my spare time, maybe this wouldn't be much of a problem…" Ken offered his help but the driver kindly rejected.

"I'm flattered that you want to help but I don't your robot-engineering skills will be needed in this old mechanism. It seems like someone just-"

Suddenly the window on the left side shattered and a hand grabbed the driver, thrown him outside. Ken stared wide-eyed at the now shattered window to see the driver 'safely' landed on the sidewalk, unconscious even though the cable car is still moving. He slowly went back to passengers' side and closes the door behind him.

"Ken, what's going on? Is everything alright?" Jie asked worryingly.

"We may…. have a problem. A huge problem, to be exact…" Ken slowly let each out word escaped from his mouth.

"….What?"

A sword suddenly erupts from the door behind Ken and luckily hits right above shoulder as he stumbled forward. The door was broken down by two people, both wearing strange red masks and similar black yukatas with odd looking red and green dragon crest. They both are in stance, ready to attack and Jie waste no time to grant this opportunity to- "Run!"

She grabbed Ken's left arm and started to run towards the exit, only to be stopped by the thrown daggers at their direction. Jie glanced around in panic to see any other solutions and there's one right at the end of the cable car, "Alright, you may hate me but we have to jump!"

"With the cable car moving?! Are you crazy?!"

"Well, do you want get injured by jumping off or assassinated?!"

Glancing back at the intruders, the shortest one just pulled the lever up and the acceleration of the cable car just gone faster. With just a quick look on the swords and extra daggers in hands, that's when he decided to follow Jie's plan. He quickly went ahead of her, trying his best to avoid the daggers. Once they've reached the end of the car, they look ahead to see the tracks and imagining the endless possibility after this.

But the two intruders behind them had enough of them standing around as they tackled them out and landed on the iron railroad and cemented tracks. Jie groaned in pain as her starts ringing, her head slumped sideway making her able to see her cousin knocked out and blood trailing down his forehead.

She wanted to reach out for him but only stopped by a sword that almost cut her entire hand off. The person standing right above had his sword position right above her neck, Jie can feel the person's glaring down. She prayed for something to happen, a miracle even, to save her and Ken from this demise. She stopped once she heard this line, "It's the end of the line for you, young Li Shen's daughter…"

Jie shuts her eyes tight; preparing for the worst yet nothing came. Instead, the sword wasn't near her neck anymore. The person from before was knocked down, especially his partner. Trying to breathe normally and stopped her heart beating fast, she looked to her side to see what she's not expected, not in her entire life. A giant red-armored thing just stood right above her and she would have screamed if she didn't hear that familiar voice, "Hello."

"B-Baymax…?" She tried to stand up but her knees failed her as she almost stumbled down if Baymax wasn't there for her to hold onto. "W-Why are you here..?"

"My sensor sense a crime happened around here and an injured patient whom I scanned two days ago seems to be involved. I will scan you now for injuries…."

"W-Wait… why are you here..?" Jie asked, completely ignored whatever Baymax listing out. She quickly looked back and only to see nobody there, especially the people after them. "Aren't you supposed to be with-"

"Baymax!"

Jie looked behind the robot and surprise, surprise, she sees a team of familiar people, "Hi-Hiro?! A-And… why are you guys here….?"

"Save your breath, Cher…" ordered Gogo. "You just jumped out of that car and land flat on those tracks, don't you dare say it doesn't hurt you even a bit. We need to patch you up…"

"Ken…" Jie looked over to see her cousin still lying on the ground, "H-He hits his head and I think-"

"Scan completed…" Baymax interrupts. "It is seemed he sustained minor cuts on both of his thighs and has a slight concussion. I recommend-"

"So he's going to be okay.." Jie sighed in relief. "Thank god…"

"We need to get you into safety…" said Hiro. "I guess closest location would be my home. But Baymax will have to carry you two since you're injured so don't struggle around him. Would that be alright to you?"

"Yeah… Yeah I think I can do that… And there's something I have to tell you guys something important…."

Hiro nodded, signaling others to move out as Baymax does his job with his patients. The whole team left the scene quickly before attracting more attention.

* * *

><p>"They know your father?"<p>

Jie nodded, looking at Baymax bind up her arm as he finished and moved to her side to do the same thing. She, Hiro, Gogo and Fred gathered in the garage and leaving Ken rested in Hiro's room with Honey Lemon and Wasabi. After Baymax already treated her (and giving her a lollipop), she continued, "It's weird I mean, my father always keep his life personal because of his job and just to think two cutthroats are after me because they knew who I am… I don't know but I have a feeling my father is in a middle of something…"

"Does he have rivals or something?" Hiro asked. "Maybe someone had a grudge against him and-"

"Who would go so far to get their revenge by killing their loved ones, Hiro? That's something I wouldn't do even if I hated that person so much!" Jie exclaimed trying to get some sense, until she came into realization. "Unless…."

"Unless?"

Jie sat up and wandered around trying to get the idea and the incident connected, "There is one person who would probably do that… His name is Yaozu Teo, he's a scientist like my father and he's really, really competitive. My father said he's a really cruel person, treating people like guinea pigs and kidnapping children and- and…. He used to be passionate about my mother before my father came in the picture. He always hated him ever since because he became well-known scientist and leaving him in the void…."

"He wanted to get rid of you to get what he always wanted from your father!" Exclaimed Fred. "Your father's fame and your mother, the two things he wanted the most and the only thing he has to do is having their precious one's life on the line, classic villain's revenge!"

"What am I going to do?! If my mother found out about this, she would clearly give herself in to protect me and I don't want that!"

"Maybe we get rid of his henchmen…" Hiro referred to two 'cutthroats' earlier. "That would lessen the problem; we just have to face that man before he's going to do anything worse to your family…."

"Hiro, that's a brilliant idea but how are we going to find them? Sure, I would 'delightfully' be the bait in your plan but just where!?"

"Hey! Hey! You can't go on your own! You're still injured!"

"Seems like someone is awake…." Said Gogo as she popped her gum and went over to the garage door to open it. Ken stumbled in, frantically searching for Jie when he spotted her, "Jie!"

"Ken!" Jie quickly went over to his side, checking to see if he's alright. "Are you out of your mind!? You're still hurt and you need to rest –"

"No, no, no! Jie, you have to listen to me on this. That crest they have…. I saw it before!"

"What?"

Ken took his cousin's hands off his shoulder as he tried to explained, "The dragon crest, it belongs to one of the dangerous group I know. Now they're like _The Fujitas_, except they're expert in swordsmanship. They called themselves, _Isao Bushi_, they're mercenaries."

"They are paid to do the job…" said Jie. "Teo must have hired them but how-"

"I think we should just talk to one of them, we might get something from them-"

"Uhm, talking with mercenaries…? Wouldn't that instantly leads us to a death trap?" Gogo pointed out. "How would you know they would be so willingly to let us talk to them?"

"Because….. I know one of their members….." Ken sighed in defeat. "Her name is….. Aina Oshiro…"

Jie had her hands cover her mouth as she gasped, not believing what she heard. Meanwhile, the other has clearly no idea what's going on until Fred came up with the question, "Yeah, I'm sorry if I'm interrupting some serious cousin-to-cousin talk here. But none of us know what's really between the two of you, so is this Aina girl your old friend or enemy?"

"No….." Ken muttered. "She's my sister…"

"PLOT TWIST!" Fred exclaimed out loud while others just stared wide-eyed at them.

* * *

><p><em><strong>[This is the longest chapter I've ever written in years….. meh, worth it. Even though this is not my favored chapter.]<strong>_


	7. Chapter 7

_**Chapter Seven**__** – **__**The Isao Bushi**_

Hiro remembered the route he took the last time he went bot-fighting and defeated Yama, but he definitely don't know this route has another shortcut to the dangerous part of the town. The whole team followed behind Jie & Ken who's leading the way, ignoring the stares they get from bystanders. Honey Lemon get, Fred & Wasabi gets closer to Gogo who seems to be unfazed by the glares.

Jie promised herself to never enter any sketchy parts of San Fransokyo ever again after her mother found out- but this is an exception and it's an emergency. Besides, _it's Ken's_ _sister_ they're going to see and she has to be there as her cousin's support. And hopefully, to clear any misunderstandings between the two siblings when they meet.

The first time Ken took this route was like two years ago and he happens to stumbled here by accident. He wasn't expected to see his sister all dressed up like a samurai with her blades out and unsheathe, covered in dry blood. It scarred him for life from that moment until now, and he knew she saw him before quickly left. After that, every time he went bot-fighting, he always has the feeling someone's watching him and always turns around to see no one there.

The last time he went here was when Jie was going to hang out with her friends, and both siblings, for the first time in nine years, finally talk face-to-face. Well, to be more specific, face-to-mask since Ken never seen her sister face under the cat-like mask.

It wasn't much, they only ask if they're well and how's thing going and after that, his sister just left. Not even asking if he's ever returning or not, like she's not really bother of him leaving them behind. It made him… furious to think her sister never actually shows any concern about him. Sure, it's a mistake, he ran away since he was nine but he was clueless back then. Everything could change if she would just say something…. like she missed him or anything, making him feels guilty and had an emotional talk. But she just left him there….

'_I can't even imagine…. How this would be different that the last time….She would probably just push me away….' _Ken bitterly thought, clenching his fist until it became white.

Not realizing her cousin's actions, Jie's attention was brought towards Hiro, "So…. your name is Jie?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, that right. My name always got caught off weirdly…" Jie chuckles. "Yeah, my name is Jie, Li Jie in full."

"Kind of got the last name already…" Hiro smirked. "So your cousin's name is Kenneth Oshiro, or Ken Oshiro, right? Kind of weird but a name is a name…"

"No, Oshiro is his mother's last name. His name is Kenneth Leigh, which also applies to his sister as well, Aina Leigh. I think she just using that name as a second identity or something. Well, that's how mercenaries' works I guess…." Jie explained.

"It's sort of freaky, you know, his sister is a mercenary?" Hiro whispered the last line, praying that Ken didn't hear them. Luckily, he didn't turn around so they continued talking. "Is that the reason he ran away? Like, he doesn't want to get into any business his sister is in?"

"No, it's the isolation he endured for nine years is the problem." Jie corrected him but has the slightest idea that he might be right. _'How long does he even know Aina is one of them? Maybe when he first started bot-fighting? He doesn't know his way home very well back then…. 'Isao Bushi', huh… Wait a second'_

"Ken, isn't the word 'Bushi' came from the term 'Bushido'? As in…. 'Samurai'?" Jie asked out of curiosity. Seeing her cousin nodded back made her came up with another question, "If they're mercenaries, why do they used the term 'Bushi'? Especially 'Isao', that means 'honor'…"

Jie is a bit knowledgeable in Japanese terms, some she picked it up from Ken over the years, mostly important terms to help her every day.

"Well, I don't think they would still exist until if their title ever meant 'mercenaries' in any other ways…" Ken said. "They want to keep on low-profile, I guess. Maybe having that name is like another identity, like Aina Oshiro to Aina Leigh?"

'_H-He did listen to us talking about his sister….' _Jie thought, not mentioning another word. _'Maybe he overhears our entire conversation…..I… I should stop talking behind his back, it only made thing worse for him…." _

"We're here."

The building is like one of those Japanese temples' structure; the lecture hall or _'kodo'_. The paper lanterns lit up when the dawn hits, all hanging in a vertical line and the entrance has a hanging beaded doorway which has scroll next to it with a similar red & green dragon crest on it. Of course, they wouldn't expect the entrance to be not be heavily guarded by three masked mercenaries.

Useful or not, Ken can identify their 'aggressiveness' by their masks. The shorter one with red yukata has the 'Hannya' mask, suspecting to be a female and is very hostile. The second one wearing blue yukata next to her is has the 'Kitsune' mask, giving the idea to be careful to not be deceived by his words. And the tallest one of them all wears a yellow yukata and has the 'Sambaso' mask, instantly masked as not their top priority to worry of him though.

He only approached the 'Sambaso'- masked man, bowed a little in sigh of respect first as he spoke in his instinctive language though is been a long time since he last spoken using it, "Greetings, I must assured you that my friends and I came with no harm done. We're merely here in search of someone we must see…"

"Aren't you… that boy Aina talked about?" said the 'Hannya'- masked woman. "Yeah, I've seen you before around her not too long ago. So you're her younger brother that-"

The tall masked man puts his finger in front of his mask in form of silence and immediately the woman stopped talking. The man puts his hand down and said, "I apologized for this young one's behavior as her disruption is 'presumptuous'."

Ken immediately shivered as if the surrounding air turns cold all of the sudden.

"But we all do respect your arrival as you are the younger sibling of one of our 'ménage' but I'm afraid Aina Oshiro isn't here now for the time being…"

"Oh great, your mercenary sister is out doing her job so we couldn't see her now. Well, what a shame!" Wasabi exclaimed. "Now, can we all just leave right now without making ourselves being an easy target around here?"

"No, wait! We can't leave yet, Wasabi! They might know who those people are and even with Aina absent, these people can help us!" Jie reasoned. "We must find out who they are now or else I would be gone before you guys even know it. My family is at stake here and I'm not going to just mind my own business out of this…. I'm the victim but we can change that."

"Cher- Jie…. In your idea, we can outnumber them yes, but they're high trained swordsmen and there are chances for them to easily find out our weak spots and eventually with that advantage to take us down…." Wasabi sighed. "We don't want to fail you but we also don't want to lose another friend."

"We have no choice. It's either this or ignoring it, it still going to end the same way and even though we… don't really know each other that long but it's really clear I'm willing to risk myself for it…." Said Jie. "Ken, just tell them about the incident…"

"Oh uh…." Ken was dazed out by his cousin's sudden demand. He looked back at the three mercenaries and said, "This early morning, we were attacked by two people who has the same crest as yours. They were wearing black yukatas and 'Tengu' masks." He was secretly glad he remembered the kind of masks they wore, he didn't the mask was actually their crucial hint to their identity.

Suddenly the three of them tensed up, they looked at each other and started to whisper, throwing angry gestures at each other. They both turned to face them and the shorter one started as she took of her mask and Ken was stunned by her look, _'Wow, she's quite an eye-catching woman…'_

"I'm way out of your league, kid…" the woman chuckled as she sees Ken blushed and looked away immediately right after she said that. "My name is Hanako, no last name needed to be referred. And it appears by your friend's description, you have seems to be encountered by two of our previous associates."

"Their names are Arita Miki & Hatori Kamlyn…." Said the man in blue yukata as he also took of his mask, and Honey Lemon quickly took a picture of him before he quickly put it back on. "Please don't do that ever again. Now about our previous associates, they were banished from our place after their unforgivable acts of mutual massacres."

"They have been meeting this specific customer of ours very often and it was foolish enough for them to not realize we have eyes and ears every part of the city…." Said the tallest one with his mask also off and not be amused by Honey Lemon's sudden similar act to the previous one. "They are associated with a scientist who has a very sinister plan and was going to perform his act in this coming event sponsored by San Fransokyo's Ministry of Technology and Research and arrival of few well-known scientists who would be able to attend."

"Wait, our institute is involved in that event!" Honey Lemon exclaimed. "And that's in two days!"

"Wow, that's race against time! Having our plans done and getting rid of those nasty henchmen firstly before going to get that villain down in his place!" said Fred.

"But Wasabi made a point there…. Some parts of our armor do have some disadvantages and even if I tried to cover it all, there wouldn't much time left to make our plan." Said Hiro, as Wasabi behind him began to feel proud of being mentioned right. "But I have other solution and it involves what Jie mentioned earlier…."

Hiro evilly grinned and shares his plan with his team, leaving out Jie and Ken. They mixed of expressions but mostly shown were shocked, uncertain and lastly approval. They all turned to them, all smiling which screams something is not right. Jie decided to ask, "Um… so, the plan?"

"Well…. You don't mind being the bait like you said, right?" Hiro asked, still grinning.

"I wasn't serious about but right now, it's sort of…. 50/50 if the plan's okay?" said Jie.

"Well since you don't mind being the bait!" Fred took over the lead instead of Hiro. "Then that mean, you don't mind being the ninja in our team!"

"Who, wait, what? Hiro, what is he talking about?"

"Since their mission is…. You" Hiro pointed at her while explaining, "They would have their eyes completely focused on you that they wouldn't even care what's around them. Even with them being on-guard with our attacks, we can use the element of surprise; your distraction. You can use your gravity bombs on them and with them really focusing on your next move; we will be the one to attack them and vice-versa! And so, that's the plan; distraction, capture them and complete."

"And at least this time, I'm grateful we actually had a plan BEFORE we strike…" Wasabi commented, only to get punch in the arm by Gogo.

"That's….. That's brilliant…." Jie began to thrill as she sees the possibilities of this plan working except for one thing. "I'm not that fast like Gogo. They can easily catch me-"

"On land…." Hiro added. "But not in the air."

"….. Oh… you mean-"

"You will be locked in space and time continuum for the sake of your family, yeah!" Fred exclaimed. "And it would be awesome! You will be like Hiro but with more awesome tricks!"

Jie's eyes were locked on Hiro smirking and looks really proud of himself for coming up such a clever plan. She immediately told them, "I'm not sure if I should be glad or regret for showing you one my inventions on that day…."

Hiro just shrugged, "Hey, it would be fun trying to do something new once. Besides, you have the chance to do what you want too, only a bit of changes I will be making to make sure it's safer…."

"Unbelievable…." She sighed. "But I guess I will take it… Hey- Ken?"

She didn't expect to see her cousin talking with Hanako who's smirking at whatever they're talking about. Ken tried to avoid her gaze but hard to resist as he keeps on coming back looking at her like love-struck person. Hanako has a fun time teasing him as well.

Jie just shook her head and said, "You two lovebirds just enjoy your time, we will just be here waiting for you to stop and head back home….."

"We-We're done!" Ken suddenly break away and went to his cousin's side, looking all flush. He felt a tap on the shoulder as he turned around and suddenly was handed over a doll by tall man. He recognized the doll as a _'Hina Ningyo Samurai' _doll.

"As sign of honor for your sister when you head back home…. You are in fact rejoining your family, yes?"

"Wait, you-?"

"We have eyes and ears everywhere, Kenneth…"said Hanako. "Nothing can escape pass our presence. Not even someone like you…"

"I thought I was way out of your league and your-" Ken got cut off instead.

"I was just joking around and, every mercenary here are a lot younger and really lovely than you thought them to be…." Hanako winked.

"Okay, we're out of here…." Jie rolled her eyes back as she pulled the back of Ken's clothes and dragged him away from the place with the team in front of them. "And don't worry about him, he's still awkwardly single and I'm fine with it if only you promised to never harm him or in any ways!" she yelled back, chuckles as Ken hits the back of her head in response.

* * *

><p>The three watched them disappeared in sight, before the taller one brought up, "The younger Oshiro does seem to appear as your type, Hanako and he's only a year younger than you…"<p>

"And it is fine for me, Rei, if you asked me that…" Hanako chuckles. "And the young Li's daughter seems quite…. Acceptable of our acts? She's unpredictable with her emotions and is hard to read her…."

"But at least you get her approval….somehow…" said the middle one. "Now, it's Aina…. That would be really hard considering she's sensitive about her family…."

Hanako ignored that line and commented about them, "At least you and your brother wouldn't have to do some awful match-making with one of those 'men' you found to be suitable, can't waste another day shoving knife into people's throats…."

The two brothers nervously backed away as Hanako emitted a very murderous aura around her.

* * *

><p>"So…Hiro…. We will start the plan tonight?" Jie asked, with Ken by her side eager to listen to the whole thing.<p>

Hiro nodded, "Yup. But first off, you, and your cousin too, needed something to protect you from those swords and daggers…"

Ken's eyes widened at the fact he was also mentioned, like he was supposed to be in the plan too with a major role. Jie was also surprised by it but has to trust Hiro in this so discordant is no use for now. Hiro looked at Ken with a grin and full of confidence he said, "Like the _Isao Bushi_, you will be the eye of the operation…..You will be the tracker."

* * *

><p><em><strong>[Fun fact, I actually thought about killing Jie in the sixth chapter but that's a bit tedious for me so I decided to not do that. But then again, I'm an asshole and I might do things that I promised I should not do… But hey, four or five chapters more for this fic to end. Or maybe six IDK It's going to end soon anyways.] <strong>_


	8. Chapter 8

_**Chapter Eight**__** – **__**Gear Up**_

* * *

><p>The team went back to garage and Hiro has already start designing armors for his two friends. He started with Ken first because his role is simple yet crucial in battle. He keeps it in his mind that he <em>is<em> the tracker after all. Hiro needs some assistance; he can't really keep an eye on every five people plus two, especially on Jie mostly.

So he designed Ken's helmet that has a hologram but only visible on its screen which identify their position and movement, this doesn't apply to the team only but to the enemies also (when Baymax scan them and- You get the computer network shit works because I can't freaking explain it without making it sound stupid).

"Alright Kenneth….." Hiro began to explain. "It's a simple task but it's important that you must keep an eye on those assassins when they strike. It will be very dangerous if you made a single mistake and probably cost your cousin's life." Jie narrowed her eyes at him, looking disbelief.

"Then, why are you giving me that role, I-I mean I just met you and you wouldn't know what I'm capable of-"

"Well, I'm sure you're a great strategist since you're a bot-fighter from what Jie told me…" Hiro smirked. "I'm pretty much betting you will be fine in the battlefield more than you will be in the ring…."

Ken stared at Jie wide-eyed and mouthed, 'you told him?!' and, Jie shrugs and replied, "He reminds me too much of you so yeah I did."

"And for that I agreed… some part of it….." Hiro coughed at the last part. "But you need something to protect yourself from those assassin's blades or else you will lose your head. I can recycle one of the ideas I made for Wasabi's plasma blade but I'm not so sure about it. There are a lot of possible designs that isn't up to your liking or standard…."

"I can handle it if it's like javelin…." Said Ken.

"Oh yeah, he earned first place in sport competition for that, every single year….." Jie immediately felt remorse of her inactivity in sports compare to her cousin. But she pushed the thought away as she said, "I'm sure it would be alright for it to be used as a distraction…."

"But a long weapon, huh….." Hiro thought for a while, and suggested, "How we disguise that to look like a harmless baton when not extended? Like a dagger and the plasma blades come out on both ends?"

"Yeah….that works, I guess?" Ken looked at Jie as she shrugged and then looked back at Hiro. "Sounds really tricky though, two things in one disguise…."

"I told you, it would be fun trying something new. Something that I actually never try it out up until this day." Said Hiro. "Now, just a quick question for you two, what's your favorite color?"

"Cyan" both answered at the same time.

Hiro blinked, bewildered by the fast response, "Okay, be more…..specific?"

"I kind of like light color like celeste….." replied Jie.

"Cerulean for me, darker color of celeste….." replied Ken.

"Okay…" Hiro wandered off to the corner of the garage, "Better check if we have those in the machine…."

"What?"

* * *

><p>As few hours passed, Ken &amp; Jie waited patiently, talking to others and trying to get Ken to open up more. From what the team got from Jie, Ken graduated high school three years ago and started bot-fighting two years ago, the same time Jie encouraged him to go to college with her but he refused. Eventually, he had second thoughts and Honey Lemon started to list out great things that would surely impress him and immediately she caught his attention, looking all enthusiastic.<p>

Jie leaned on the wall next to Wasabi, with her hands in her pockets and legs crossed, chuckles at the sight of her cousin looking lively with the team. She never seen Ken being all-talkative with strangers he recently met, but it still helps that they have similar interests. '_It looks like he's getting well with Honey Lemon and Fred mostly, a trio full of energy._'

"Jie, catch!"

"What-" Jie looked back at the source of the voice when suddenly something thrown right at her direction and she immediately caught it with both of her hands, gripping the thing close to her chest as her breathing became uneven due to shock. "Are you crazy?! This thing could knock me out!"

"Sorry, gotta practice being a leader or else…" Hiro laughed. "Anyways, check that out, will probably surprise you."

Jie looked down at the thing she had shaped like familiar instrument, "A…..skateboard?"

Hiro smiled as his hand motioned in circle, "Flip it over…."

And when she did it, she saw two familiar gear attached on both sides with a gaping hole in the middle. She had a fixed gaze on it for a moment and suddenly broken down into laughter. She glanced at Hiro, a wide smile spreads her face, "Dude, you're serious?! You actually combined my two best things into one?!"

"Actually your armor and your 'skateboard' have your favorite things separately." Hiro explained, he sat back on his chair with hands behind his head and feet up on the working table. "But I made a few adjustments as well, like the 'two things in one' you guys said? It can be diminished into a 'hoop'. It can be used for throwing as well like Gogo's disc."

"Awesome! You should test it out!" Fred exclaimed. Jie nodded, feeling eager to do it now but Wasabi stopped her before doing so.

"I-I think we should NOT do it because it's still uncertain if it's safe enough for her?" Wasabi pointed out. "Hiro just made this in one go and it's not like it will be 100% not dangerous will all, I mean, it could malfunctioned in the middle of the-"

"Alright then, Wasabi…." Jie smirked. "Since you really want to know about it so badly, YOU go first!"

"Wait, NO!" Wasabi protest. "I didn't mean me being a test-dummy-!"

"Come on, it would be fine. We're just going to test this indoors and just slightly a few meters off the ground and because I know you're afraid of heights so I'm not going to bully you by pushing you off." Jie assured him. "Because that could be Fred's or Gogo's job. Hiro! Magnetized boots!"

"Right at ya'!" Jie swiftly caught the boots and showed it to Wasabi, "Prototype and by the looks of it, Hiro did plan for you to try it out first."

"I can't believe you two…." Sighed Wasabi. "I mean, what did I do to deserve this?!"

"Nothing, just for fun….." Gogo shrugs. "Maybe this could get rid of that stupid fear of yours or might not 'completely' rid of….."

"Yeah, and you will be the first one in the team to try this 'hoverboard' as well!" Jie encouraged. "Please, Wasabi? Just one time and you will never get to ride on it ever again…."

"Only once….?" Wasabi repeated and Jie nodded. He thought for a while as he looked at Jie's pleading face, sighing as he said, "Alright, if it satisfies you, I will do it…."

"Yes!" Jie exclaimed happily as she looked over at Hiro and said, "So Hiro, since you design this thing, how do you activate it?"

"Voice-controlled system…." Hiro replied. "Just simply say 'activate' and it's on, but it has to be your voice, Jie, since you will be its user. But if you want, I can authorized Ken's voice also just in case."

"I preferred not to since he will surely go crazy on it-" _"I will NOT!" _"You know it's true, Kenny…" Ken let out a huff as Jie giggles. She lightly threw the hoverboard as she quickly said; "Activate!" and it suddenly float mid-air, almost touching the ground.

"Cool!" Fred exclaimed while putting his foot onto it and it didn't collapsed to the ground. "Geez, I really envied Wasabi for getting to try it out first!"

"Well, if you want to switch-"

"No switching, Wasabi." Jie immediately told him as he groaned loudly. She sighed and shook her head, "So how do you get it going, Hiro?"

"Well, just say simply 'go' and if you want to go faster, just use 'accelerate', but if you want to stop just say 'stop', the commands are simple because it would be disastrous if you mixed them up….."

"You know what….?" Wasabi tried to balance on the hoverboard as he done pretty much alright with it. "This doesn't seem bad, well, maybe it's okay-ish but I'm still not sure….."

Jie began to feel a bit tired of hearing Wasabi's troublesome comments so she decided to tease him, smirking as she shouted "Go! Accelerate!"

"WHAT?! NO, JIE!"

The hoverboard suddenly sped up with Wasabi clinging onto it and hit the end of the garage, hits his face on the wall then fell on his back with the hoverboard lying right next to him. Jie chuckles as she went over and glanced at Wasabi's face with a grin on her face, "So, was it fun?"

Wasabi frowned and grunted, "I'm on the ground and in pain, Cherry….."

"Huh, using my old nickname?" Jie pretends to be thinking, still has the grin. "I guess that means it's really fun then." She then offered her hand in which Wasabi hesitated first but eventually accepts as she pulled him out and brush off the dirt on his clothes, "Sorry, Wasabi, it's too tempting and I couldn't help myself."

Instead of an expected friendly reply, she was given a cold shoulder. She began to wonder if she should be the apologizing but then Gogo told her that Wasabi would forget about the whole thing soon.

* * *

><p>"So, even without the board and as long as the any building structures are made from its specific material, I can still be able to…."<p>

"Only for a short time, not all has the same properties like your hoverboard. Keep that in your mind if you don't want to fall from higher places…"

"I will…" Jie nodded, inspecting the armor Hiro already made. The armor, including Ken's, was designed similar to Gogo's except the waist area is covered and is the thicker armor is in celeste-colored and Ken got his in cerulean. _No wonder Hiro asked us about our favorite color…._

"So, you and Wasabi are surprisingly close and what, known each other for only three weeks?" Hiro started.

"Well, we're lab partners and I tried to open up by asking questions, typically just getting along but to be honest, he really irritates me during the first week when he said 'everything must be precise and well-organized' even a smallest bit…." Said Jie. "I really thought I would end up couldn't stand it and snapped but then I just told myself to endure it and maybe it wouldn't be so bad at the end. And well, who knew his attitude just made our effort in projects move smoothly and easier. I ended up becoming his friend, met Fred accidentally and then you guys. That's the whole story, the end."

"Getting used to his attitude after the first week? Sounds like a record to break…." Hiro smirked. "Yeah, we know how you feel; even Gogo is annoyed by it. But hey, he's really brave, you know? You should see him in action; he's really fast in thinking on his feet and actually has a sense of leadership."

"That's what I'm actually expecting from Wasabi….." Jie smiled. "I already knew that he would be nothing but just full of surprises and waiting to be discovered. Can't help but really excited to see that honestly…."

Hiro halted at whatever he's doing, he repeated the words he heard and realized that Jie doesn't sound really frisky when she was speaking unlike just now. He really had a doubt at whatever he's thinking could be wrong but he had to say it, "Jie….. Do you like Wasabi?"

Jie froze and just stared at him as the armor slips out her hands and fell onto the table. Then she step back a little and muttered, "Was it….. completely obvious?"

Hiro let out a small laugh and repeated what he said earlier, "You actually like Wasabi?!"

"Hiro, shut it!" Jie shouted in panicked as she was about to cover Hiro's mouth from revealing any further outbursts. "Look, about that, I'm not completely sure of it. Sure, I may like him as a friend but in a _'like, like'_ situation, that's a _'yet'_….. I have _yet_ to realize if I actually like him like that or not….."

"So, you _like_ him…. But you have to confirm that you actually _like, like_ him first?"

"Look, my feelings are complicated and it doesn't get myself anywhere close to what I'm looking for," Jie exclaimed. "I just need time because; in just three weeks and already had a crush on someone? That's really weird and I want to see if it's actually a 'thing'."

Hiro just shook his head and said, "You're so messed up…."

"Yeah, that's what I kept telling myself…." Jie sighed. "But maybe now it's not a good time to be discussing about that, since my life is on the line and that's what should be my main concern. We need a plan coming up in two days….."

"Exactly but I had an idea…." Hiro grinned. "Thinking about making a plan while practicing you and your cousin's combat skills with the rest of the team. For more, 'realistic' situation….."

* * *

><p><em>[I just found a slightly fitting song for Ken and Jie's sibling-like relationship; Magic Mirror by RADWIMPS (From Jie's perspective) and wow that actually hurt my heart, I'm their creator so why am I crying….]<em>


	9. Chapter 9

_**Chapter Nine**__** – **__**Showdown & Happenstance**_

* * *

><p><em>(Because I can't write the practice scene because of some pathetic reasons I had and it's mostly because I DON'T KNOW HOW TO WRITE ONE, so just have a dialogue.)<em>

"_Those were some sick moves just now! I could hardly believe what I just saw!"_

"_Freddie, I'm so, so sorry that I nearly blinded you. I didn't mean to aim directly at you-"_

"_Well, we all learn from mistake, Cher! No need to be guilty!"_

"_But Honey Lemon, I-!"_

"_With a few amount of eye drops, the irritation of the eyes will cease."_

"_AHH! Baymax! Stop appearing out of nowhere!" _

"_Stop fussing about it, Cher, he's fine. Woman up!"_

"_Um, guys? I think you should give her a little space here? Because pressuring her only makes her anxiety worse….."_

"_Yeah, Ken's right. She just had a heart attack when Hiro almost pushed her off…."_

"_IT WAS BAYMAX- Ugh, never mind. Look, we did fine just now but I think Ken needs to be cautious when the assassins strike and that's the only problem in the plan, okay? Hah, I can't believe we actually did pretty well…. Alright, let move out!"_

* * *

><p>Jie walked deeper into the shady parts of San Fransokyo and carefully observing her surroundings, listening to Ken through the earpiece.<p>

"_Jie, picked up two readings near you. Keep walking and just let them follow you to the warehouse…"_

"_Got that…." _Jie muttered,_ "And why on earth are you whispering? I should be the one doing that right now." _

"_Well if only your 'friend' here didn't warn me for the fifth time, I wouldn't be whispering and sound greatly annoyed…"_

"_Figures…" _Jie rolled her eyes back, sped up her pace once she saw a figure quickly disappeared into alleyway. She gripped onto her red cardigan out of safety and fear of being discovered quickly but those feelings melted into relief once the sight of the warehouse enters her view.

She quickly went in and whispered _'Position', _took the earpiece and stuffed it in the pocket of her cardigan, turned to face the door. She was surprised to see the two 'cutthroats, she preferred to call them, already in.

She took a deep breath and talked, "H-Hey… you guys caught up….. That was….. fast, unlike before?"

The taller one, presumably be Hatori Kamlyn judging by his voice stepped in front, she can feel him glaring at her through the mask, "We're running out of time, daughter of Li Shen, and you've testing our patience. It's either you come with us without doing any harm or we will just force you…."

"So, the force thing is what you did back then? Slitting my throat?" Jie raised an eyebrow. "You guys need me….. Both dead _and_ alive? I'm sorry but that's one heck of a Schrödinger's experiment you guys wanting to do there…."

The shorter assassin, assuming is Arita Miki didn't say a word, possibly bewildered by the statement, however the other didn't falter, "No time for jokes, come with us or else we-"

"Oh, not for one more?" Jie immediately cut off his sentence, trying to ease the tension she's currently feeling. "This one would not take a long time, I promise…"

"Alright…." Miki instead replied, as the other looked at her in disbelief and feeling betrayed by his companion. But she just shrugged and gestured Jie to spit it out.

"Alright I know this joke has been repeated like million times but it still worth it right now…" Jie nervously smiled. "Okay then, so here's the joke, two men walked into the bar-"

"And the third one ducks…" Miki groaned. "It's an old joke we already have a long, long time ago. You greatly disappoint us with your poor choice of joke". With her complaining, Kamlyn mentally restrained hitting himself.

Jie just chuckles and said, "And you know what the interesting morale of that joke is? The two guys _should have ducked if they weren't so distracted…._"

"What?" Miki asked in confusion. She was suddenly knocked down as this alerted her friend to be in stance but also got hit by a fast-moving disc. Jie quickly caught as it was bounced back from the wall after hit the assassin right behind his head, looked up and shouted, "Nice throw, Gogo!"

"Sorry took a while. Got really, _really bored_ of your unbelievable jokes…." commented Gogo. "You could have provided a better distraction or at least, a better joke."

"Hey, I saw the chance and I have to take it." Jie scoffed. She took off her cardigan, revealing that she already wore the armor and has a belt around her waist lined up with spherical-shaped balls. She threw her hoverboard as it activated by her commands and was about to go once she saw the enemies on their feet. She smirked and teased, _"Catch me if you can!"_

She quickly dodges the knives thrown at her direction, grabbing them for later and mocked, "Thanks for the knives, really needed these!". Kamlyn growled and charged right at her but stopped in his tracks when a javelin was thrown and landed right in front of him, one more step and he could be impaled. He looked up and froze once he caught a glimpse of the team.

"Welcome to hell, 'cutthroats'…" Ken smirked as he clicked something on his helmet and the visor began to show the holographic map of the area. "Alright, Wasabi & Honey Lemon, take care of the smaller one, Miki, make sure she lose the sword and rendered her defenseless. Hiro, Baymax and Gogo, do the same to Kamlyn and be cautious, he's really quick on his feet. Fred and Jie, do your thing."

"Alright! Jie, boost up the speed to maximum overdrive!"

"Got it, Fred! Accelerate!" said Jie as Fred hang from each sides of her hoverboard as it sped through the air and by-pass the enemies. "Light them up'!"

Fred let go and breathe fire around him, causing Kamlyn and Miki to step back before they strike. They were stopped when small spherical-shaped bombs that they didn't see it coming exploded right in front of their face, a chance for Fred to escape.

"You should really watch your surrounding before you guys even make a move" Jie mocked them from her hoverboard and slightly slipped once Kamlyn almost got her. "Okay, I think I deserve that!"

"Honey Lemon! Now!" Ken shouted.

By his order, Honey Lemon drop two multiple capsules which releases smokescreens, masking Jie's movement while the other two couldn't see it. When everything clears up, Gogo threw her disc directly at Miki's hand, knocking off the sword. She went to retrieve it quickly only to be stopped by Wasabi with his plasma blade over it, "Sorry but we sort of need you without this!"

Without any weapon, Honey Lemon easily threw the capsule that exploded into foam-like substance which trapped Miki in it, and quickly solidifies. "Thanks Gogo! Even though we got everything under control here!" Wasabi shouted from the other side. The shorter girl just smirked and waved off, before joining Hiro & Baymax.

Baymax' rocket-fist almost threw Kamlyn off-balance but still on guard with his sword. He gritted his teeth as he watched the boy on his robot soaring through the air, completely ignoring Gogo coming right at him, noticing it almost too late as the disc just missed his sword. Jie threw her stunt bombs in hope of an opening for Gogo to not miss her target this time, until she realized none of her discs weren't in her possession at the moment.

Ken realized that and quickly told Jie, "Jie! Your hoverboard! A substitute disc!" Luckily, she remembered what Hiro said to her about that specific feature.

"Gogo! Catch!" Jie shouted when she close to the ground and commanded her hoverboard to diminished into a hoop and threw it at Gogo, later wasting no time threw it at her enemy when still in dazed. After knocking off his weapon, Honey Lemon threw the same capsule, trapping Kamlyn in the solid foam.

"Nice aim!" Jie encouraged Gogo, retrieved her hoverboard and in return Gogo's discs.

"Nice timing and throwing as well…." Gogo smirked. "Things could have gone wrong if you didn't act fast enough. Good job." Jie beamed at the moment she was being praised.

"We got them!" Ken exclaimed happily when the two assassins are now trapped in Honey Lemon's chem-balls, unable to move their whole body. "Alright, we can now interrogate them-"

"Kenneth?" Jie called out to him when she noticed his face shows confusion behind the visor. "What's the matter?"

"S-Strange…." He whispered. "There's….. There's one more …"

"One more what?" Hiro asked.

"One more intruder….. This doesn't make any sense!" Ken exclaimed. "I thought there's only two-"

Ken didn't finish his sentence once he saw something moving and tackled Jie off her hoverboard and landed onto the ground. "Jie!"

Jie groaned and her sight became blurry for a second, trying to act quickly but her body failed to do so. The figure right before her, holding her hoverboard and a katana in the other hand. Filled with fear, she tried to crawl away and stopped when her hoverboard was thrown into the ground and in front of her face.

"Jie!" Ken went into the scene with the help of Baymax retrieving him from the second floor, stopped at his tracks once he saw the intruder wearing a familiar cat-mask, "Ai-Aina…?"

He couldn't believe it; his sister is here and right in front of him once again. But for what? What could she possibly be here for? Unless-

"Ai- _Sis_…. Whatever you're here for and… if I have nothing to do with it….. Please don't-" But he was cut short once Aina dashed towards the two cutthroats, "No! Gogo, Wasabi, stop her!"

Gogo threw two of her discs but Aina quickly evaded them with just her katana, knocked it away from her. Wasabi tried to distract her, if it wasn't so risky to lose his head by a sharp blade and knocked down, stunned. Ken was hyperventilating, he couldn't think of anything else to stop her until something hit the cat-masked assassin on the back of her neck.

Quickly, Ken took his spear (surprisingly was ignored in the battle, were they that distracted to even notice it sticking out freely with no owner?) with no plasma blade on and without hesitation, hits his sister in the head. The brute force managed to knock the cat-masked assassin out, leaving the other two terrified of losing their lives.

Jie quickly retrieved her hoverboard and went over to Ken to check for any injuries, sigh in relief when she doesn't find any so she immediately hit the back of his head, "Did you just hit your own sister unconscious?! Do you know that's a death wish!?"

"I-I panicked, okay!?" Ken answered, or shouted, whatever seems right for him. "She just knocked you down and- and- Whatever she wants, I'm sure she wants to get rid of them!" He pointed at Kamlyn and Miki, "Even in a mercenary group, they also have rules which are similar to a samurai's loyalty!"

"Now, you tell us that!?" Jie shouted. Her eyes wandered off over an unconscious Aina and the two other mercenaries, worriedly she said, "We can't have them near to each other, of course, unless we risked getting our only information getting to where our main target is planning lost. And you still need to settle 'that problem' and I need to do this alone with them so… I'm afraid you have to do the talk with Aina without me."

"What!? Wait, how am I supposed to know what to say to her-"

"I don't know! Just tell her the reason and clear that up, it was your decision you wanted to be with your family again." Jie sighed, pats Ken on his shoulder. "If you think it's dangerous to be near your sister, you can ask Hiro and Baymax to accompany you…."

"Why them?"

"I think….. They experienced this type of situation before…..They might help you out." Jie said while looking over Hiro, who nodded and gave a sad smile. Hiro told Baymax to carry Aina outside, as both Hiro and Ken follow behind the robot. Jie mouthed _'Be careful' and_ Ken nodded in reply as he closed the warehouse door.

Jie deeply inhaled and exhaled, in the room with Honey Lemon, Wasabi, Fred, Gogo and the two mercenaries. She stood in front of the enemies, full of determination, "We have questions for you two to answer….."

* * *

><p>"Aina…?"<p>

Ken watched as his sister slowly sat up with her left arm to support her weight, realizing her mask isn't on, staring right at him. He almost didn't recognize her, probably the aftermath of running away and never by his family side for too long. But he decided to change that, "I need to ask you something…."

* * *

><p><em><strong>(I seriously have no reasons why am I late updating this….)<strong>_


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